The Five Princes - Preview

Chapter 2 - The Dinner Guest

I turned to see if there was someone else behind me. There wasn't.

"I know it's strange," he said. "Your father told me that you had no idea of your royal heritage. Honestly, I'm not sure of the best way to tell you all this."

"Royal heritage?"

He nodded. "Yes. You come from a long line of royals, Marina."

Well ... that wasn't in my DNA test.

"How do you figure?" I asked. "Are we related?"

The king snorted and covered his mouth with his hand. "No, you and I are not related. Your parents are royalty. You are a princess, my dear."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh at him for saying I was a princess or for calling me dear.

"My father and your father were close friends," he continued. "I believe your father expects the same of us. That's why he sent you here to be trained up as a princess. By me."

His smile was warm and sincere, but a little too much like my dad's smile when he was in the middle of a prank.

"Nice try," I replied. "My father organized this trip as a graduation present."

"Yes, he wanted you to finish college first. Business major, wasn't it?"

"Uh ... well ..."

"But he tried to get you to major in political science, right?"

How did he—

"And when you refused," the king continued, "he tried to convince you to study economy, trade, and even technology. But he couldn't win. Right?"

I didn't answer. There's no way this guy could know all that. I didn't fill that in on any visa forms, right?

He scratched his sharp chin. "Business is a good subject for any member of royalty, I think. After all, business affects economy and trade, right? When I mentioned this to King Tylier, he saw the appeal of it among royal studies." He paused, opening his hands. "You're welcome."

King Tylier? I cringed. What a weird thing to call my dad.

"Not to be rude, Your Majesty, but I think you're confused," I said.

The king pressed his lips together. "I don't think I've been accused of confusion before."

"My dad can't be a king," I replied. "We live in California ..."

"Most of his business is handled over video conferencing. Over the last five years, he's traveled here for negotiations."

Dad did go out of town once a month. But wait, no ...

"He hates politics."

"Because he has to deal with them all day, I'm sure. I hate them myself."

"He also can't take anything seriously."

He puffed out his cheeks. "Yes, well you said it, not me."

I shook my head. "You're crazy. You really expect me to be—"

My stomach growled, throwing off my train of thought. It was enough to get His Majesty's attention too.

"I apologize. I was inconsiderate to give you such big news right before dinner," he said. "Also, I've run out of time to tell you anything more. We're cutting into my scheduled bathroom break."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He called the tour guide back into the room. She looked me over suspiciously.

King Cyrus waved her over. "Catie, take Marina to the dining room. I'm sure she's starving by now."

The tour guide smiled and bowed. Though my stomach was yelling at me, I had too many questions to be bothered to feed it.

The king put a soft hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to take care of you. I told your father I'd look out for you, after all."

I looked at his hand on my shoulder. He plucked it off, rubbing his neck.

"We'll speak more after you've had dinner," he said. "Please enjoy it with your tour group."

I was about to say that I'd rather talk now, but the tour guide interrupted me.

"You mean, you won't be joining us, Your Majesty? I thought you'd be our guest for the evening?"

"Afraid not. Nikos will be joining you." He wrinkled his nose. "Good luck with that."

Nikos. Nikos ... I knew that name ...

Before I could ask any other questions, he gestured for the tour guide to escort me out. She bowed and motioned to the door.

I looked back at him before leaving. He only smiled.

This wasn't real ... right?